On November 26, 2013, the NASDAQ Stock Market (“Nasdaq”) filed an amendment to its listing standards that eliminates the prohibition on the receipt of compensatory fees by compensation committee members...

This program, presented by members of the BDO Corporate Governance Practice, will emphasize the more significant changes and enhancements to required communications under PCAOB AS No. 16, Communications with Audit Committees. Additionally, the presentation will touch on other governance topics and related resources that may be of interest to audit committees of public companies.

Outreach to audit committees is a key priority for the PCAOB. PCAOB board member Jeanette Franzel met with audit chairs to discuss the PCAOB’s agenda. Ms. Franzel noted that enhanced auditor reporting is one element of a holistic approach to transparency that might also include an enhanced audit committee report. She underscored the value of better audit quality indicators and offered insights into the PCAOB inspection process.

12, 2013 -- /PRNewswire/ -- PwC US today released a comprehensive report that examines the views of corporate directors and institutional investors on current corporate governance issues – finding that perspectives largely depend on "whose shoes you are ...

NEW YORK, Nov. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- PwC US today released a comprehensive report that examines the views of corporate directors and institutional investors on current corporate governance issues – finding that perspectives largely depend on "whose shoes you are in." (Logo:...

A recent survey demonstrates a number of positive developments and emerging trends, supporting the idea that compensation programs at U.S. publicly traded companies are in fact becoming more aligned with shareholders' interests in the wake of the implementation of Dodd-Frank regulations...

Earlier this year, US corporate governance campaigner Bob Monks warned corporate greed remains a big, if not growing, problem. He should know, as founder of Institutional Shareholder Services, the biggest proxy adviser in the US, which tells investors ...

Corporate Secretaries can often end up managing five, ten or twenty boards that are either related in some way to, or belong to affiliates. It can be time-consuming and difficult to disseminate information to these diverse boards around the world on a timely basis. As boards continue to become geographically dispersed, and as the fiduciary responsibilities of Corporate Secretaries and Directors increase, ensuring you have a board portal solution with ‘Enterprise Management’ is crucial. Enterprise Management comes into play for “joint” meetings across affiliates allowing the portal Administrator the ability to centralize all distributions and communications to multiple affiliate boards.

ISS recently released the results of their annual survey of institutional investors and companies on emerging corporate governance issues. ISS considers the survey a critical component of its annual policy review and formulation process...

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC's (PwC) Center for Board Governance released the final installment of its Annual Corporate Directors Survey, titled "Boards confront an evolving landscape." Topics addressed in the final installments are strategy and risk management oversight, as well as the regulatory and governance environment.While the study includes responses from directors of public companies (70 percent of which have more than a billion dollars in annual revenue), it does provide good insight for companies of all sizes, public and private, mutual companies and tax exempt entities on governance trends and how boards are reacting to changes in the regulatory environment...

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently issued proposed regulations on the “Pay Ratio” disclosure rules. Under these rules, a public company must disclose the ratio of the median of annual total compensation for all employees other than its principal executive officer to the annual total compensation of its principal executive officer. The proposed regulations provide guidance on the determination of the median of annual total compensation for all employees and provide some flexibility in making such determination.

If adopted, public companies would be required to provide pay ratio disclosure in any filing that requires executive compensation disclosure under ...

Many directors believe recent regulatory and enforcement initiatives have failed to achieve increased investor protections, improve public trust in the corporate sector, or enhance transparency to stakeholders, according to new data from PwC...

NEW YORK, Sept. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- There is a dichotomy in the boardroom between directors who believe it's appropriate to communicate about governance issues directly with stakeholders and those who do not, according to new research from PwC US's 2013 Annual Corporate...

In boardrooms across the country, corporate directors increasingly view information technology as a strategically important part of the business, according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP...

Compensation committee leaders identified several trends affecting their committees' work for the next few years, including broader and more frequent engagement with investors and a focus on improving public disclosures on compensation. Members also discussed changes to proxy advisory firm policy and how boards should engage with advisors. Jonathan Feigelson, TIAA-CREF managing director, general counsel, and head of governance, joined the dialogue.

All stock market investing is, to some extent, a gamble. But, amid the share tipping and stock picking, the wheeling and dealing, the buying and selling, the speculation and tribulation, one class of gambler stands supreme.

Board directors today are more confident in their knowledge of the companies they serve and more strategic in their approach than they were in 2011, according to the latest McKinsey global survey on governance.1They say a greater portion of their boards’ time is now spent on strategy, while they are spending less time than before on M&A. The share of time spent on strategy is even greater at private-company boards than at public companies, which tend to spend more time on compliance...

PitchBook, an independent and impartial private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) research firm, and NASDAQ OMX, the world’s largest exchange company, have partnered to conduct the 2013 PE & VC IPO Sentiment Study in order to get a better understanding of investment professionals’ outlook for the year ahead. This report utilizes data gathered from more than 130 respondents in the PE and VC industries, including investors, lenders, financial advisors, and attorneys.

Compensation committee leaders identified several trends affecting their committees' work for the next few years, including broader and more frequent engagement with investors and a focus on improving public disclosures on compensation. Members also discussed changes to proxy advisory firm policy and how boards should engage with advisors. Jonathan Feigelson, TIAA-CREF managing director, general counsel, and head of governance, joined the dialogue.

The question of, “how to protect our information and defend against cyber threats” continues to be at the forefront for executives and boards of directors. In a recent piece for the CIO Journal section of the Wall Street Journal, NASDAQ OMX’s Chief Information Security Officer, Mark G. Graff, discusses specific tactics for defending against Advanced Persistent Threats – such as educating employees and filtering network traffic. The full column can be read here.

Neither Mark Graff nor NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions, Inc. has a vested interest in the companies mentioned in the article.